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The Political Strategy of Aurobindo Ghosh: The Utilization of Hindu Religious Symbolism and the Problem of Political Mobilization in Bengal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Barbara Southard
Barbara Southard
Affiliation:
University of Puerto Rico
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Extract

The nationalist rhetoric of Aurobindo Ghosh and other leaders of the political movement protesting the decision of the Government of British India to partition Bengal province in 1905 contained frequent allusions to Hindu myths and symbols. Militant political leaders primarily drew upon Śakta symbolism, especially the imagery of the Hindu cult of Kālī worship, and they adopted philosophical justifications of nationalism which were based on modernist, Neo-Hindu interpretation of Śaṁkara's Vedānta philosophy. The nation was described as an incarnation of the goddess Kālī, and nationalists were considered her devotees.

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Articles
Information
Modern Asian Studies , Volume 14 , Issue 3 , July 1980 , pp. 353 - 376
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1980

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